It's All Good Fun
by A Fool's Reflection
Summary: Somewhere in her messed up life filled with bickering adults and unstable homes, she found something that made her "Minako", a loveable upbeat girl, scamming her way through life, but what will happen to her fun game of manipulation when some interesting people come a little too close to the truth about her little ruse?
1. Chapter 1

Minako sighed as she leaned back in her arm chair and removed her glasses. She glanced at the bottom of her laptop screen to see the time.

"2:22 AM…"

She reached as far up as she could, feeling her shoulders and back pop back into place. Whether this actually helped her, she never knew, but what she knew was that it made her feel better, most of the time. This time though, she could feel her much abused body screaming at her to get away from that chair and get moving. That's what she got for slaving over a computer screen in a dark unventilated room for ten hours straight.

Using her arm rests for leverage, she pushed herself up, grunting all the while at the effort. Her body was right. It was in dire need of some form of exercise. She glanced at the dimly lit street outside then back at the computer screen displaying multiple programs from a long list of names and addresses to video clips and online blogs.

She made a fair amount of progress. It wouldn't hurt to take a short break to keep her body from failing her on the spot. She closed her laptop and quickly slipped it under her bed, away from prying eyes.

A few seconds later, and she was wearing her Atlus sweatshirt, black colored contact lenses, and black-rimmed glasses. As she looked out into the empty street again, she tied her hair in a loose side braid, making her look very different from her usual high pony tail. Why get all dolled up for an evening jog?

Why, in a new town with new people to play with, she couldn't have her perfectly perky persona tarnished by her sweaty, ungraceful self. If anything, she was consistent in keeping up appearances, especially since this was her eighteenth school. You'd be surprised what a different hairstyle and some glasses could do for someone's identity.

As soon as she pushed the window open, the cold night air rushed into her stuffy room, somehow finding openings in her well-insulated clothes and running down her slightly sweaty body. Whatever little droplet she had on her felt like ice against her skin.

Note to self: turn on the fan next time you go on ten-hour hacking spree to avoid ruining body further with drastic temperature changes.

Having done this many times before, she smoothly climbed out her window onto the 3 inch ledge. Finding any crevice she could, she clung to the wall as she made her way to the pipe a few feet away. Once she reached the square pipe, she slid down about ten feet, making sure to avoid any of the loose bolts sticking out.

Once on the ground, she looked at the roof of the hotel, thankfully finding no security cameras. Oh, the trouble she got in with the hotel staff that one time they thought someone had sneaked in and killed someone. The policeman that tackled her that time was awfully heavy, and she'd rather not have a repeat of it. Several warm ups later and she was jogging down the street, making sure to familiarize herself with the surrounding area which would be her "home" for the next school year or maybe month, who knows?

Maybe you're wondering why she was sneaking out of her hotel room. Why not walk out the front door like every other sane person in the world? Well, the relatives babysitting her weren't inclined to be held accountable for having her mugged in the middle of the street on their watch. They already had enough to deal with regarding the legal claim as her guardian.

As a child, she had been passed from relative to relative, attending new schools and new towns, never really keeping any worthwhile relationships. Well, maybe one, but he got arrested for cyber theft. When she tried to visit him one time, he just told her to stay away and do whatever she wanted, obviously bitter that he had actually been caught before he could leave his "mark" as he called it.

She'd say he left a "mark", not on the world like he always wanted but on her. She'd learned the powers of the computer and the knowledge she could gather on just about any person with a name. Not really inclined to commit cyber theft or mess with her legal documents, she kept the skill simply for enjoyment. No gain or loss, just for good fun. On a whim she decided to pry into the personal lives of her schoolmates, finding some very interesting facts. By the time she left each school, she knew every schoolmate's situation and every sin they'd committed and that included the teachers. Oh the fun she had with that. It was admittedly fun pushing students into paranoia or manipulating teachers into giving everyone A's (not that she needed it) for fear of their dark secret getting revealed. With all this happening, she still managed to maintain an innocent, lovable persona willing to listen to anyone who wanted to talk to her about their problems, maybe fill in the little holes in the stories the internet just couldn't completely fill.

People were sometimes just too fun.

Now in Iwatodai, about to enter some big name school under the Kirijo Group, she had to be ready to run the usual tricks or maybe new ones. With her computer filled with ever schoolmate's info that wasn't guarded by the government or large conglomerates, she was ready to begin her game when school started. Her body simply couldn't be aching on the first day.

After a minute of jogging lightly, she was already out of breath and struggling just to keep her walking at a snail's pace. Remember when she said appearances were everything? Yeah, part of her appearance was this athletic girl with boundless energy, ready to take on any trial. The problem was that no matter how hard she tried, she just couldn't improve her athletics. Curse her body! She already gave it two hours of sleep a day and all the instant ramen it needed to be filled, but it wouldn't let her run more than a minute even at the lightest jog she could give it. At least it stayed slim enough to give the appearance of athleticism.

She took a deep ragged breath, trying to calm her rapidly beating heart, threatening to break her chest open and run free.

Sometimes she regretted picking this personality, but at the time, it seemed to be the most convenient to get people to talk to her and to talk to other people. It still was, but the effort she went through just to maintain it… Times like these made her wonder whether she should just switch off to the lazy girl that rarely talks but always listens. She could even leave her hands in her pockets all the time as a personal trait to exude calm, collected, and talkable. Sadly, she'd miss out on the fun of seeing people desperately trying to keep up a friendship with her, going so far as to agree with everything she says and bend their standards for her.

Finally, feeling calmer, she sighed, getting ready to push her body to the limit and run another twenty seconds, maybe thirty if she really tried. She stopped when she suddenly heard a loud crash. Not really thinking logically, she turned around and saw a man surrounded by trashcans groaning and another man holding a glowing taser yet still somehow panting hard.

"H-Ha! That's what you get for messing with me! You like my new toy? I got it from a girl I messed with," Minako narrowed her eyes. "Put up a pretty good fight too, but man, did she lose!"

He tossed the taser up in the air repeatedly, smiling insanely. "Too bad you weren't around to save her like usual." Suddenly, a group of guys that she didn't notice before started laughing from their safe spot several feet away. Somehow, that just made Minako's blood boil.

"Poor little Shinji ca-"

Without even thinking about it, she punched the guy in the face, somehow sending him sprawled on the ground. Normally, she wouldn't even be able to make a guy flinch with her punch, but with the adrenaline pumping and her anger pushing her, she could do some pretty amazing things. Still, that one punch took a lot out of her. Even though she had calmed her breathing just now, she was panting again.

Noticing someone from the corner of her eye, she immediately jumped back, preparing to punch another goon, hoping it would still hurt him at least enough to push him back, but upon seeing the man who had been with the trashcans, she immediately blanched. It wasn't the fact that he was well-above her height or the fact that he looked like a goon. It wasn't even about the stance he was taking as if he was about to punch someone before she jumped in. It was the fact that she knew his name as soon as she saw his face. He may have been a bit different from the picture, but she never forgot a face.

Normally, in her hacking escapades, she started with the truants, the ones with the normally most interesting stories which drove them into an antisocial life, and Aragaki Shinjiro's had certainly been interesting. When reading about this man, she had found him to be connected with Kirijo Mitsuru, Sanada Akihiko, the crime syndicate Strega, and an orphan named Ken Amada. The holes had been plenty, many covered up by the Kirijo Group themselves, just waiting to be hacked by yours truly. Why had she put that off? He had been the worst person to meet in her less than glamorous form. Judging by his personality, her upbeat persona would have been perfect to use to worm her way into his life and get the info, but that chance was gone along with her other side. Shoot! Why did she ever get involved?!

Before she could think of anything to fix the situation, she was interrupted.

"You're gonna pay for that!" Mr. Jerkface got up and started barking threats he probably could back up with that taser in his hand and the group of burly looking men on his side. Thankfully, she apparently had a burly looking man on her side too.

Shinjiro grabbed her wrist. "Run!"

And run she did, sadly her sprint wasn't quite up to speed with Shinjiro's. Okay, she was terrible. He practically dragged her through the elaborate streets, yelling at her every time she tripped on her own feet. After maybe the fifth time of yelling, he just pulled her harder every time she tripped. He just didn't understand her struggles to keep her face off the ground. Several narrow streets, sharp turns, and a hiding spot later, they had finally got away from the relentless goons.

As soon as she heard him sigh in relief, she just fell on the ground, not all cutesy like she usually would. She just fell flat on her butt, no grace and no poise. Like she needed it with this guy. Oh yeah, maybe she did; he was after all Aragaki Shinjiro. She internally sighed. It was too late anyway.

She leaned back, letting her arms support her as she faced the sky, eyes closed, still breathing hard.

Oh, why did she have to get involved? Even if she didn't punch him, the guy would still have gotten what was coming to him in the form of a much stronger man. Even if it did feel good to sock him in the face herself, the trouble she'd have to go through now just to have her fun was obviously increased. Grrr! Why couldn't she just throw out her morals like that idiot in jail did?

"Why the hell did ya get involved?!" he yelled at her when he got his breath back.

Unlike strong-lunged Shinjiro though, she was still struggling to breathe for more than one second. She almost made a snarky comment but after just the first syllable, she needed to breathe again. Then she remembered. Her plan B, of course! And if she remembered correctly… " _Th-That's… what I… wanna know… Stupid."_

She saw him make a comically confused expression.

Yea, straight D's in English according to his report card. Thank goodness she spent some time actually looking through the numbers and learning English for her relatives in America.

"Ya don't speak Japanese?" he asked confused.

Minako probably would have responded snarkily while making sure to keep the tone confused, but she was too tired to do that. Instead, she just kept trying to control her breathing.

"Ya know what, nevermind." He quickly dismissed the subject before slipping into a personality much like the goons they were hiding from. "Just get out of here!" he pointed to the alleyway which led to the main road as she had learned during their little excursion.

For a moment, Minako just looked at him, her breath finally back. "_You know… if you save my butt and give me a confused face like that, I'm not gonna take your shouting seriously."_

"Go!" he shouted again, trying to be even more menacing.

"_C'mon. You're talking to an English-speaking person. Give a little more effort!" _she said encouragingly, trying to suppress a smirk from forming.

"How can I do this?" he muttered.

"_That's a no brainer_."

As if understanding her, he gave a thoughtful expression, as if trying to rack his brain about something. Then his expression just changed back to one of anger and frustration. "_Sh-Shut up… and… lean!"_

Suddenly, Minako laughed, not the usual giggles she let free during school. It was a full on laugh. The kind she let free when things just went according to plan and became so fun. It didn't matter that she was still out of breath and very clearly turning red from lack of oxygen. She just couldn't take it. A one-year truant so involved in gangs actually racked his brain for some school information to keep a foreign stranger safe from harm.

"Did you not hear me?! _Shut up and lean!_" he tried again, but even with the added venom it wasn't helping anything. She just laughed harder. This guy was too much fun.

"_Y-haha-You're k-haha-killing me! You're killing me! Haha._"

Through the tears forming in her eyes, she could see him rubbing his beanie frustratedly. Then he glared at her and approached her laughing self. Suddenly, she felt herself forced upward by the hood until her feet no longer touched the ground. That was when she finally stopped laughing to look at Shinjiro who was looking at her very seriously. She looked down to see the ground annoyingly only a few inches away. Even with her toes pointed, she still couldn't touch it. Just a bit out of her reach. She didn't like it.

"L_et me down!"_ she started struggling, trying to somehow free herself from his iron grip by waving her arms up and down. "_I'm not a kid you know!_" How badly she wanted to scream at him with his own mother tongue, but she was smart enough to know that he would ask for an explanation and there was no way she was outrunning him.

"_Lean!"_

She started laughing again, forgetting her position. Sadly, she was reminded when he lowered her slightly so her toes could touch the ground but not the rest. she almost started cursing him with every English word she knew, but when she heard a very distinct ripping sound, she immediately panicked. "Ie! _Stop! I love this sweatshirt! I get it! You're Macho Goon Man! Now let me down!_"

She started trying to kick his shin which was somehow just a few inches away. This jerk! Was he some professional torturer or something?!

Finally, he just let her down, completely. When she finally felt the ground, she just turned to him and stuck her tongue out, something she'd normally do in a cute fashion to con a guy into becoming attracted to her, but this time, she really was trying to show she was angry at him. She crossed her arms and glared at the man. She knew a guy like him wouldn't fall for some cheap girl trick like this anyway. And she was right.

"Tch, Kid! Go home!" then he stomped off.

"_You're no fun!_" she yelled back before running down the main street and making her way back to the hotel. She'll make sure to mess with him plenty as the perfect "Minako".

By the time she made it back to the hotel, she was so badly tired out, she just sat in front of the pipe, waiting for her energy to return. "Let the games begin, Aragaki Shinjiro!"

* * *

Normally, I'd write a much longer chapter about 5000 words, but this is more to test the waters to see how it works out.

In this story, I've tried twisting Minako's personality a little bit. While playing the game, I found Minako to be a childish character yet a character that very much cares about her teammates and random strangers. This Minako remains childish but however, is a rather selfish character, looking for something fun to cope with her unstable life filled with bickering adults and a constantly moving home. Having found a not-so-healthy hobby, she used it to find something of interest to her but at the cost of others' privacy and peaceful lives, something she'll find will have its consequences, that is, if I decide to take up this little musing.

I was really apprehensive about having Shinjiro since I honestly don't like him. (Don't hit me!) He's so painfully easy to write, it seems like he has no dimensions at all. Everyone can write him because he has such limited amount of dialogue that would actually make it sound Shinjiro-like. If I do take up this story, I do want to add more layers besides the tough exterior and a mushy core. I mean, Shinjiro's sweet like that, but it all seems to make him a completely secondary character to me. I want him to be a primary character on an even level with Minako.

Okay, reviewers! I do appreciate the basic "Update soon!"s and "This was awesome!"s. I mean, it's more reviews to add to my number, but I honestly would prefer some constructive criticism. Nothing like "I hate this. This is why I hate it. I still hate this! I need to tell you I hate it again!" That's not constructive criticism, guys. That's destructive. Constructive criticism, in my opinion, is a good and a bad. Reviews on whether the sentence structure is awkward, whether you can actually understand Minako's character through the thoughts and comments, whether this story actually seems solid, and whether the dialogues and movements are smooth enough. Then maybe some ways I can improve. I look forward to your reviews.


	2. Chapter 2

Minako burst out of her hotel room, a Dr. Salt in one hand, a melon bread in her mouth, and a pair of shoes in her other hand. She couldn't believe it. She, of all people, was actually late. She ran or rather hopped down the hall, all the while clumsily trying to put her shoes on one foot at a time. With one shoe almost on with only her heel still sticking out, she suddenly stopped halfway to the elevator and hopped back to her room, remembering a little important detail. It probably wouldn't be good if she came back to find her room still wide open, already ransacked by burglars. With the door closed and one shoe fully on, she once again started hopping to the elevator, trying to put the other one on.

Somewhere between trying to get her shoe on, keep her drink from spilling, and stop herself from completely biting off a piece of the melon bread and letting it fall, she lost whatever little coordination she had and fell flat on her face, pushing the melon bread further in her mouth and spilling the Dr. Salt all over the carpet. Her situation would probably have been comical to anyone who saw it, especially her annoying uncle who somehow found a way to make a stupid Laffy Taffy joke out of anything she did. The thought only added to her frustrations.

Finally, she just gave in and sat up in the middle of the hallway, straightening her Dr. Salt which thankfully didn't even reach her haphazardly tied hair. She glanced at the spilled contents and furrowed her eyebrows. She didn't know whether to feel bad for the maids or for the wasted contents. Either way it was just a big frustrating mess. She bit the melon bread completely and separated whatever had been pushed into her mouth and whatever still remained outside her mouth. She looked at the dirty piece of bread in her hand before tossing it into the puddle of clear fizzy liquid.

With her cheeks puffed out with food and her three-fourths empty cup standing next to her, she pulled up one knee and started putting her shoes on properly, finding that her right shoe was on her left foot. She sighed as she took it off and placed it on the right foot.

After each shoe was on the correct foot, she just stared at the puddle, chewing the large amount of food in her mouth and trying to bring it down a bit with what little Dr. Salt she had left.

This was the worst. Last night's little adventure took so much out of her that as soon as she returned home, she just fell asleep, and it just so happened that that night her body decided "Hey, I need more than two hours of sleep. Why don't I just take an extra three hours off Minako's life? She wouldn't mind." One day, she'd get revenge on her weakling of a body, but for now, she'll have to settle with the people responsible which would be Mr. Jerkface, Shinjiro, and her two-faced uncle.

And yet, she found herself focusing not on the people she met last night, but on the person who didn't even bother to wake her up. But if you knew her uncle, you would find every little thing he did the most annoying thing ever. She'd bet fifty bucks that he was probably just making breakfast for one at 7:30. He probably even ate it in her room, left the plate in her room, and moved to the adjacent room just to "work." Maybe to all his colleagues and the whole town he seemed to radiate "I've got a heart of gold; what's your problem?", but to her, the only thing that radiated off him was "I have a punchable face; too bad you're not strong enough to do it."

Oh, she'll find someone strong enough to do it. And wouldn't you know it, he just happened to choose that very moment to exit his room right next to hers.

"My, what a mess you've made." he said with a "good-natured" smile as he pushed up his glasses.

She glared at him as he walked down the hall and stopped at the Dr. Salt spill. "A mess… If you keep listening to songs all night you're gonna have Mess Destruction in the morning." Immediately, he launched into a fit of laughter.

"That wasn't funny."

As soon as she said that comment, his laughter stopped, his smile changing immediately into a grimace. "That wasn't very nice. At least the kids in the dorms stay wait until I'm done laughing."

"Then why don't you go hang out with them and ship me to some other relative? Sure would make your life a whole lot easier." Minako spat out as she stood up, wishing she was a few inches taller so her uncle wasn't constantly looking down on her. She hated the way he looked at her as if she was just a mere pawn, not even a human being.

"What is it that you always say? 'You're no fun?'" He adjusted his glasses as Minako's glare intensified. "Now, would you like me to drive you to school or not?"

"I'd rather walk." She crossed her arms as she started walking to the elevator, making sure not to step in the puddle.

"Really now?" Not only did she hate his look but also his tone, as if he was speaking to a child or more accurately a little pet dog. "Would you really want to be all sweaty on your first day? What would the kids think about the perfect athletic little Minako? Why, they'd simply Mina-mize you."

She turned around, to face him, his smiling mouth yet leering eyes. This wasn't fun. "Crack another joke on the way, and I'll punch you in the face."

"Now, now, be nice to your Uncle Ikutsuki."

* * *

"Hey, Yuka-tan, did you hear? We're supposed to have a new student in class."

"Don't talk to me, Junpei."

Yukari really was not in the mood for this. With her mom forcing her to go to dinner with the new beau, she wasn't able to finish all of her homework, and worst of all, the one she wasn't able to do was Ekoda's homework. If it were any other class, she would've been fine with just a bad grade, but this was Ekoda's second period class; it wasn't just a bad grade. It was a bad grade and a five minute lecture dedicated to you and only you, and there was no way she was getting that kind of humiliation because of something her mom forced her to do. So at the moment, she was quickly finishing answering the questions of the story she had read on the train ride here.

"C'mon. Don't you want to know who she is? I heard some cool rumors about her."

She grit her teeth and leaned down lower as if that would help her focus more on her homework and less on Junpei.

"Go away, Junpei."

But somehow the words 'Go away' translated in his head as 'Go ahead' because he just told his story anyway with no hesitation.

"Okay, thing is she's been from school to school, and in every school she goes to, something interesting always happens: a mystery case gets solved, the school suddenly goes from average to academic, school gangs dissolve, and people get cured from cancer."

Yukari's resolve to finish her homework before the bell rang waned, quickly being replaced by an insatiable curiosity over one thing he said. She just couldn't stop herself from dropping the pencil, turning to him, and asking the question he wanted her to ask.

"What kind of high school girl can cure cancer?"

Then Junpei gave his lopsided grin which to her looked the same as rubbing his own victory in her face. "This girl can! The boy got a mysterious donor for the operation he didn't even know he needed until he got the call from his doc ten minutes after the money came in!"

She raised one of her eyebrows. "And you actually believe that stuff?"

Junpei chuckled as he took the seat next to hers and leaned back slightly. "Nah, I'm just saying what Kenji said. Would be interesting if that stuff was actually true, but who believes stupid rumors like that?"

"Kenji."

"Hey, hey, Kenji doesn't count. That guy'll believe anything." Junpei looked to the left with a silly grin before looking back at her with a raised eyebrow. Somehow, she was reminded of the rumors Kenji believed about her and Junpei. A laugh escaped. As if Junpei and she would be twins separated at birth.

Junpei laughed with her, both of them laughing together at a poor boy's expense. When the laughter subsided, Junpei's grin switched to a small smile. "You feeling better now?"

Yukari tilted her head.

He rubbed the back of his neck, avoiding her eyes. "Well, I sorta got an invite from your mom to go on that dinner date, but turns out she texted me the wrong location and the wrong time. Ended up on a date with a giant plastic duck at eleven at night. Saw you this morning looking kinda down."

This time Yukari smiled lopsidedly. He really hadn't changed from the Junpei she used to play with as a kid, still looking for any frown to turn upside down at his own expense-well, in this case, his best friend's, but Kenji honestly didn't mind as long as it cheered up the person too. When you're living a high school life filled with gossiping, two-faced people, it was nice to know that there was still someone genuine around here, not letting silly rumors get to him. Oh, he was still the most annoying person in the world, but he had his sweet moments.

She picked up her pencil and started working on her homework again, a slight smile on her face.

"Go to your seat, Stupei." she muttered.

"What?! Aw, c'mon. I didn't know the boyfriend's preferences. How would I know that the date was actually in some ramen store near Wakatsu?"

Suddenly, the bell rang and Junpei was forced to go back to his desk, wondering how he could fix whatever blunder he made this time, while Yukari just smiled as she opened her binder and book to hide her half-finished homework.

Halfway through the class period, she was beginning to worry whether she'd ever get this whole thing done. She'd been able to answer most of the questions without having to open her literature book, but when she brought out her literature book, her progress considerable slowed down. Not only did she have to move her binder down to hide both the book and the paper, but she also had to turn the page only when the whole class was turning pages. It was just two questions left, but she just couldn't find it. Just when she was about to reveal herself by flipping through the pages impatiently, the door slid open, and she looked up to see a girl she had never seen before.

So the rumor about a new student coming wasn't a lie.

The girl seemed like any other beautiful girl she'd seen: slim body, flawless skin, seemingly effortless hair, and a smile, albeit an apologetic one plastered on her face. The only quality that really stuck out to Yukari was her piercing red eyes. Other than that, just a normal student to through into the vicious den called high school.

She bowed to the teacher. "Sorry. I got lost on the way."

Ms. Toriumi looked the girl up and down. "That's fine." Then she turned to the class. "Guys, this is our new student. Minako Arisato." She turned around to write the name on the board while the class was in an uproar, some complimenting the girl, some complaining about the girl, and others asking the opinion of others regarding the girl. But Yukari seemed to think differently.

What better distraction than a new student!

Finding this an opportunity to finish her homework, she leaned forward a bit and tapped the person in front of her, possibly the smartest in the class. Thank goodness for random seating arrangements.

"What's the answer for two and five in lit?" she whispered softly.

For a moment, the boy looked hesitant about giving the answer, being a boy who always did his homework and preferred for others to do it as well on their own, but he was also a boy who understood the shame Ekoda normally brought to students if they didn't do their homework. He was academic, but he wasn't a jerk about it. He didn't want his piers suffering through that. Finally, he gave into her expectations, still managing to keep his morals.

"Check page 33, bottom of the right column, and page 34, middle of the left column."

"Thanks. I owe you big time."

He turned around uneasily and tried to pay attention to the girl in the front, while Yukari turned the pages and found the answers almost immediately in said sections. With a content sigh, Yukari put away her literature book and her homework. Mission complete.

She leaned on her left elbow, still loosely holding her pencil so she still looked as casual as she did while doing the homework. In the front of the classroom, the girl, Minako Arisato, giggled when someone asked her a question Yukari didn't hear. "No, I never really did do too well in that area, but hey, if you wanna burn something with me, let me know, and I'll be there in a hearbeat!"

The class laughed while Yukari, although confused, laughed along with them. What were they even talking about?

"Um," the new student leaned over Ms. Toriumi's podium to look at a piece of paper, then she looked back up. "Kenji."

"Oh no," Yukari muttered as she rolled her eyes.

"So what do you plan on doing in this school?" Well, at least it wasn't too bad, but it was clearly alluding to the rumors that were going on about her being some good luck charm for schools.

"Well, I guess like any other teenager... survive?" She shrugged. "You know, get through the academics, the social hierarchy, and maybe have something cool happen."

"What kind of cool thing?" Yukari sighed and regretted ever calling the boy even a friend of her friend.

"I don't know. Just something cool, I guess!"

"How cool?"

"Just cool...?" She gave him the most confused expression.

"What kind of-"

"Tomochika-san, please sit down and think of some logical questions."

It's official. Kenji was an idiot.

* * *

Minako started packing up her books as soon as the bell rang.

Thankfully, the day went on without incident. In fact, the whole day, aside from her morning, had gone on amazingly well. She'd already made more than a few friends in between classes, whether it be with a simple joke, carrying a few papers, or using her intelligence to help someone out with their homework. Now, if she could just find someone to hang out with after school and establish a more solid relationship, preferably someone popular or well-informed on the happenings going on around school… She wasn't particularly inclined to approach the big fish on the first day without enough info, nor was she inclined to go back home immediately to come face to face with her most hated and most persistent relative.

How she'd love to give him just one punch.

Minako sighed, trying to push any thoughts about her evil uncle to the back of her mind, was reminded of something that happened in the beginning of school. That Kenji kid asked a pretty good question. What should she do with this school once she's formed the relationships. Maybe, she should do something romantic like play matchmaker or get a boyfriend herself… Nah, too many obligations with the latter one. Maybe she could play godmother and fix some people's problems… Maybe, but some may turn out a bit boring. Maybe she could turn everyone into goody goodies... the effects may be a bit too long lasting.

She was pulled out of her thoughts when she heard someone talk to her.

"So how's it feel like being the new kid?"

She looked up to find a boy with a baseball cap and a goatee sitting on the desk in front of her, his body turned to the side and his face turned toward her. He sure saved her the trouble of looking for someone to hang out with. If she remembered, he was Junpei Iori, son of a drunkard. Inwardly, she grimaced at the thought. Stuff like that was stupid, and anyone that did it was stupid too... but she'd give him the benefit of the doubt. Hopefully, he wasn't some hopeless drunkard like his dad. She honestly wasn't planning on dealing with people like him until the middle of the first semester, but she was flexible enough.

"Hm? Oh, normal I guess. When you've done it eighteen times, the thrill sort of dies down."

"E-Eighteen?! No kidding?"

Minako giggled at how his voice managed to raise an octave higher, always an entertaining trait in someone. "No kidding."

"Must be pretty tired of school by now. Oh, by the way, I'm-"

Suddenly someone snatched his hat right off his head.

"Hey!" Immediately, Junpei stood up and turned around to find the thief to be a girl with short brown hair and a pink sweater, innocently twirling his cap around her finger. He tried to snatch his hat back, but she quickly pulled it away, using her body as a sort of wall between Junpei and his precious hat.

If she remembered correctly, she was Yukari Takeba, a girl who also had connections with Mitsuru Kirijo and Akihiko Sanada. She vaguely wondered why there were only three people in a dorm the size of her hotel, but hey, she wasn't complaining. The less people, the more convenient it would be if she ever went there. It'd be a pain to deal with a bunch of people she'd already finished playing with. Besides, it probably had something to do with Mitsuru Kirijo, heir to the Kirijo Group living there. You know, "Only 'trusted' people may enter", and stuff like that. It's probably do her some good to be one of those trusted, starting with Yukari Takeba.

"Really, she just came and you're already hitting on her?" She looked disgustedly at Junpei.

"What?! I wasn't hitting on her," I was just making sure she was doing fine on her first day." He tried taking his hat back again, this time succeeding. "And quit taking my hat." he muttered as he put his hat back on his head.

"I will when you quit hitting on every girl you see. Seriously, ever thought you might be bothering someone?"

Minako looked from Junpei's frown to Yukari's raised eyebrow. They seemed rather close.

Yukari turned to her with an apologetic smile. "Anyway, sorry about this goofball. He's been having trouble with his hormones ever since he found out girls actually exist."

Even though Yukari addressed her and apologized to her. Everything she just said still seemed to be directed toward Junpei who unhappily crossed his arms.

"Is this about this morning? You know you could've copied my homework."

Minako furrowed her eyebrows as Yukari snorted. "As if! I'd rather get a lecture for not doing it instead of getting a lecture for doing it completely wrong."

And so their argument went on with Junpei defending himself and Yukari making light jabs at his ego. Although this little piece of information was interesting, it seemed that even though she was in the group she wasn't "in the group." Sure the two referenced her and used her as a second opinion every now and then in the conversation, but they really directed everything toward each other. She did observer, friend, confidant, but not third wheel. This was honestly why she preferred dealing with school one person at a time. It was a sort of way to avoid things like being ignored.

As if hearing her thoughts, Yukari started walking toward the door, only turning around once she made it to the front of the room. "Hey, Minako, if he does anything, let me know!" She pounded her fist in her palm, making her implication loud and clear.

Junpei sighed before muttering something under his breath along the lines of "trust issues".

"Sorry about that. She's Yukari Takeba-Yuka-tan to me-. Sometimes nice, mostly rude, but believe it or not, she's actually pretty popular." He leaned on the desk while making sure he was still facing her.

Really now… "That's cool that she's got a lot of friends!"

She'd probably do well to befriend Yukari Takeba soon, but she should probably do that one-on-one. With Junpei there, all she'd probably do is give him light jabs the whole way. There would be no way she'd talk to her directly.

"Yeah, I guess it is pretty cool. So wanna go grab a bite to eat with me, Mina-tan? Don't worry. If I take you down any dark ally, I'll make sure it's to save you from any goons in the city."

Minako giggle as she started walking with a spring in her step. "Then I guess you'll be my hero, huh?"

Yup, relationships formed one-on-one definitely were the best. Much easier to manipulate one person than two.

* * *

Finally, I'm done with this chapter. Honestly, I went through so much editing and rewriting, it seems so unreal that I'm actually finally posting this.

Okay, before the character analysis I wanted to ask if you guys want the actual to bring persona as in Tartarus, Nyx, and all that fun stuff into this, or would you prefer for it to be a free high school fanfiction.

Honestly, I don't want Minako to be too cool to relate to anyone because, honestly speaking, when you take away all the skills and strategy, she's basically just a jerk and a hypocrite. She's not some special human being that surpasses all human nature and can do no wrong. Though I am worried about the other "Minako." In trying to be perky, she will giggle and bounce a lot, as I'd picture any perky person doing, but does it seem like Minako is maintaining a consistent character through her dialogue. Admittedly, it is difficult, creating a character that can only be shown through dialogue and no inner thoughts whatsoever, but I must ask if I'm pulling it off well enough.

Oh, Uncle Ikutsuki. Do you see the family resemblance? Honestly, I was considering just putting him as a cameo, but then I thought that there should be at least one person that knows how she truly is, and what better person than Jerk #1? When reading some of his dialogue, I found that he really isn't a person that's evil but pretends to be good. It's more like he really is likeable jokester, but he just has his morals in the wrong place. So even with his jerkish side showing with Minako, he will still attempt his usual jokes albeit in a darker fashion.

For Yukari, I've decided to make her more aware of school life. Since she is technically part of the more "popular" section of the class, she should be pretty familiar with how school life works, and from my school experiences, last-minute homework is a pretty common occurrence. Though I am worried about the way she interacts with Junpei. While watching the videos, I found that she tries to be the more mature of the two, scolding him but still making jabs at him when she can. Does it seem off in any way?

For Junpei, he's more the guy who just wants to live a happy high school life with everyone smiling, a sort of contrast to all the jerkish and cynical characters I'm writing. Since he's mainly a naive character, he will be manipulated by Minako, but I do plan on him being an important character when it comes to Minako's character development as well.

Okay, you know the drill on constructive criticism. Right now, my biggest concerns are character consistency, smooth dialogue, understandable actions, and of course, whether you actually like it or not.


End file.
